Investigator Tells of Evidence Linking Rose to Bets on Reds

The special investigator for the baseball commissioner testified today that he had extensive evidence that Pete Rose had bet on baseball and on his own team.

The testimony by the investigator, John Dowd, was the first assertion by the commissioner's office that it had evidence that Mr. Rose, manager of the Cincinnati Reds, had bet on baseball.

If it is determined that he bet on his own team - something he has consistently denied - Mr. Rose could be barred from baseball for life. 3 Witnesses Back Rose Mr. Dowd appeared as a witness in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court in a hearing on Mr. Rose's attempt to obtain a restraining order to block a hearing the commissioner has scheduled for Monday into charges that Mr. Rose had bet on baseball.

Robert G. Stachler, one of Mr. Rose's attorneys, called three witnesses. All of them said that Mr. Dowd's report was one-sided and that the baseball commissioner, A. Bartlett Giamatti, had prejudged Mr. Rose's guilt.

Mr. Dowd told the court that he had evidence that included telephone records, signed checks and betting sheets in Mr. Rose's handwriting as well as the statements of nine witnesses implicating Mr. Rose in gambling. He added that the report included statements from nine other witnesses exonerating Mr. Rose.

Of the nine witnesses cited against Rose, three have already been associated with the case: Ron Peters, alleged to have been Mr. Rose's bookmaker; Paul Janszen, a friend of Mr. Rose who has produced betting slips that a law enforcement official said have Mr. Rose's fingerprints on them, and Danita Marcum, Mr. Janszen's girlfriend.

Mr. Dowd did not offer many specific details about the six additional witnesses against Mr. Rose other than to give their names and ways in which they were associates of Mr. Peters and Mr. Janszen. Mr. Dowd did say that, unlike Mr. Peters and Mr. Janszen, none had a criminal record.

Mr. Rose was in Atlanta with his team for a game tonight and declined to comment on the proceedings.

Mr. Dowd is the only witness the commissioner's office will call in the hearing before Judge Norbert A. Nadel, who has been asked by Mr. Rose's attorneys to issue a restraining order that would preclude the hearing for Mr. Rose that Mr. Giamatti has scheduled for Monday.

Mr. Dowd vigorously defended his report, for which he said he had interviewed 80 people. ''There's more information in my exhibits alone than in any criminal case I've ever seen,'' he said. ''If I was a lawyer for the defense, I'd love to have my report. I'd love to have a report where the other fellow completely exposes his case.''

He also said neither Mr. Giamatti nor his predecessor, Peter Ueberroth, intended anything less than a fair hearing for Mr. Rose.

''Commissioner Ueberroth and Commissioner Giamatti said from day one that everything you do is going to Mr. Rose,'' Mr. Dowd testified. ''Mr. Giamatti said that Pete Rose is one of the greatest ballplayers of all time, and we will give him every chance to defend himself.''

Judge Nadel refused a request by Louis Hoynes, an attorney for the commissioner, that Mr. Dowd's report be made public.

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''The report has been so discussed and mischaracterized that we believe it ought to be seen in its entirety by the public,'' Mr. Hoynes said after court was adjourned. ''I've asked him every hour on the hour to have the report on the public record.''

In his opening statement, Mr. Hoynes referred to the ''substantial and heavily corroborated evidence'' contained in Mr. Dowd's report. He said: ''The proof will be in the pudding. This has not been a whitewash or a witch hunt. It has been an evenhanded investigation.''

Countering Mr. Stachler's charge that the Rose camp has not been fairly informed about the investigation, Mr. Hoynes said: ''I have worked for five commissioners, and during that time there have been investigations that the objects didn't even know were going on.

''This job is at the very heart of what the commissioner is entitled to do.''

Mr. Stachler's three witnesses were Robert A. Pitcairn Jr., one of Mr. Rose's attorneys; George Palmer, a former state appeals court judge, and Samuel Dash, who was the chief counsel for the Senate Watergate Committee. All criticized the Dowd report.

The cross-examination of the Rose witnesses was conducted by Lawrence Kamin. The first witness was Mr. Pitcairn, who earlier wrote a letter to Mr. Dowd strongly criticizing the investigator's report for inaccuracies and inappropriate conclusions.

Mr. Pitcairn referred to what he perceived as a lack of cooperation from Mr. Dowd.

''He asked for handwriting samples from Mr. Rose, and when we asked what the handwriting samples were to be compared against, he refused to tell us,'' Mr. Pitcairn said.

Mr. Palmer and Mr. Dash were called to testify to the propriety of Mr. Dowd's report and Mr. Giamatti's ability to hold an impartial hearing. Both said the report resembled ''a prosecutor's brief'' and challenged Mr. Giamatti's impartiality.

Mr. Dash, who has had roles in several major investigations, including the Watergate affair, said Mr. Dowd's report ''was not the report of a professional investigator.''

''It was so flawed that, as chief counsel for the Senate Watergate Committee,'' he said, ''if I had been given that report by one of my deputies or investigators, I would have fired him.'' 'Impossible Situation'

''I think Mr. Rose has been put in an impossible situation,'' Mr. Dash said. ''I can't think of another case in this country where a man has been asked to prove his innocence. I think it's unprecedented.''

In his opening remarks, Mr. Stachler referred to potential punishments if Mr. Rose did not cooperate with the commissioner's investigation. ''At least four times, he was threatened with penalties,'' said Mr. Stachler, who did all the direct questioning and cross-examining for Mr. Rose. ''Those sanctions were a sword over the head of Pete Rose.''

The commissioner has said he would take no action against Mr. Rose until at least 5 P.M. Sunday.

Mr. Dowd, the final witness of the day, testified that he met with Mr. Rose and Mr. Rose's attorneys on April 20 and 21, near Dayton, Ohio. He said that, at that time, he showed Mr. Rose much of the evidence he had gathered, including copies of checks, phone bills, and betting sheets. ''They knew where I was going from the beginning,'' Mr. Dowd said.

Mr. Dowd said he had tried to cooperate with Mr. Rose's attorneys in such ways as seeking the F.B.I. originals of the alleged Rose betting sheets handed over by Mr. Janszen.

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A version of this article appears in print on June 23, 1989, on Page A00001 of the National edition with the headline: Investigator Tells of Evidence Linking Rose to Bets on Reds. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe